Milan grabbed their fourth win of the season against Venezia despite battling multiple absences. Coach Stefano Pioli is optimistic the infirmary will empty out in short order. “Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Olivier Giroud are feeling better. We hope to have them back soon because we know their quality, personality, and stature and what they add to the team. I am not sure yet they will be good to go for Saturday, though.”
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Giroud is no longer dealing with back pain, but his conditioning took a hit due to the recent problem and the bout with COVID. He is the closest to returning, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic practiced on the side in the lead-up of the Venezia game.
The Milan coach continued: “I do not know yet who will be available Saturday. Surely Davide Calabria and Simon Kjaer are improving. We will assess them in the next couple of days.” The Danish defender needs to shake off some discomfort in this thigh, but he avoided substantial injuries, while the fullback is nursing a more serious pull.
In the meantime, Milan have relied upon their backups. The gaffer singled out Pierre Kalulu: “He is doing very well, and he improved a lot. He is also logging minutes with France U-21. He has good skills and great physicality, and he just has to work on some reads. I am very happy for how Fode Ballo-Touré and Matteo Gabbia performed too.”
The Rossoneri have displayed great depth in the early going: “There are some teams that are more experienced than us and maybe have won more, but the squad put together by the management is very strong and complete. I have many starters at my disposal,” Pioli concluded.